Mohammad Nabi Is The Most Underrated Player In T20 Cricket: Gautam Gambhir

Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi is one of the premier cricketers to emerge out of Afghanistan cricket. Mohammad Nabi, who plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad, is gearing up for the upcoming edition in the UAE and is amongst the foreign players like David Warner, Kane Williamson, Rashid Khan, Mitchell Marsh, and Fabian Allen. Meanwhile, Gautam Gambhir has lamented the lack of opportunities for Nabi.

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When taken into T20I rankings, Mohammad Nabi has topped the all-rounder’s rankings. So far in 13 IPL games from 2017, Nabi has scored 135 runs while maintaining a strike rate of 148.35. The veteran also has 11 wickets, eight of which came in the last season with best bowling figures of 4/11 with his off-spin. In international T20s, Mohammad Nabi has 1347 runs in 78 games at a strike rate of 145 and 69 wickets.

Gautam Gambhir identified that Mohammad Nabi belongs to a franchise that has the likes of David Warner, Rashid Khan, Jonny Bairstow, Kane Williamson; hence, he does not get many opportunities. Gambhir backed him to play all 14 matches if he was part of any other franchise and then only Nabi’s impact would be realized.

“He is also in a franchise where you play David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Rashid Khan and Kane Williamson, so he does not get that many opportunities. If Mohammad Nabi was in some other franchise, he would have played all the 14 matches in the IPL. And if you play him in all the 14 matches of the IPL, you will come to know his impact,” the World Cup-winner said during an interaction on Star Sports.

Mohammad Nabi contributes in every aspect of the game: Gautam Gambhir

The 38-year old continued saying that one might heap praises on men like Kieron Pollard, AB De Villiers, David Warner; however, Nabi’s contributions are unprecedented. The former Indian batsman stated that the Afghan all-rounder fields well, chips in with four valuable overs with the ball, and can play the big shots at number five or six.

“According to me, he is the most underrated player in T20 cricket. You talk about Kieron Pollard, AB de Villiers, Rashid Khan or David Warner but if you see his contribution, he is a brilliant fielder, gives you four overs with the ball, bowls in the first 6 overs, bats at No.5 or No.6 and can play the big shots,” Gambhir mentioned.

Gambhir feels that Mohammad Nabi is not far behind from Andre Russell in the category of all-rounders. He believes that since he comes from Afgahnistan, who do not play much cricket, Nabi is not highly rated.

“We talk about Andre Russell as a quality all-rounder but Mohammad Nabi probably may not be in that category but he is not that far behind. Because he comes from Afghanistan, who do not play that much cricket, so people do not rate him that much,” he added.

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